FAQ Friday: Estate planning and divorce
On Friday, August 4th, Attorney Steven Berger and Ms. Ida Reis discuss the integration between estate planning and divorce.
For those with children, couples planning divorce should focus on the guardians they list in their Will. If one or the other passes the children will live with the other parent full time. Beyond that though, it is best if the parents can agree on who they would both like raising the kids if both parents pass. If they do not agree and each name different people, it will be up to the courts to decide who they are raised by. If one parent names no one, the guardian will be who the other parent named.
Gray divorce and remarriage is when a couple is older and they both have their own adult families and maybe one or the other or both are widowed or divorced and get re-married to each other. In this situation they usually want their inheritance to go to their children, but to be able to provide for each other during their lifetime. In Maryland law the spouse is subject to 1/3 of all assets, but this can be waived with a pre-marital or pre-nuptial agreement. One thing to consider is long term care as well.
If you are divorced, even if you don’t change your Will or the agents, the ex-spouse will lose their “position” by virtue of the divorce. What does need to always be updated is beneficiary designations for life insurance, retirement etc.
Steve suggests you update your Will or estate plan as soon as your divorce is final.
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